Paderborn, Germany  - The remains of an eight-year-old girl who was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered in Germany were being flown to her ancestral home in Turkey Friday as police admitted they had no idea yet who killed her.

In biting cold, residents of the German city of Paderborn, many of them Turkish, joined in a procession Friday evening to mourn for the girl, Kardelen. Her surname has been withheld to protect her family's privacy.

Police said 4,000 people took part in the march, organized at short notice by a student so the city could unite in its grief.

Many residents placed white roses and small lighted candles on the steps of Paderborn's town hall in mute gestures of their horror. Others voiced anger, carrying "execute child rapists" signs.

Kardelen's naked body was found Thursday in woods 60 kilometres from her home in the northern German city.

Police pathologists identified the body and confirmed the child had been raped and suffocated.

At an Islamic memorial service Friday morning, so many people attended that the imam moved the prayers outdoors so that everybody could take part. The mosque said her remains were then flown to her parents' hometown in Turkey.

Prosecutor Ralph Vetter said investigators had no suspects yet, but were confident the inquiry would move forward quickly, with 50 police officers checking out 300 leads from the public.

One possible clue was a report that the girl was seen alive Monday with an adult on a dam, near where her body was later found.

Kardelen vanished Monday when she went out to play. On Wednesday, items of her clothing were found alongside a road near a reservoir, the Moehnesee. Later, police sniffer dogs found her body in woods, hidden under fir branches.

Mayor Heinz Paus told mourners, "The fate of this little girl shocks us to the core." (dpa)